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Get Bigger Faster: Multi-Muscle Size Effects

Q: You’ve said that you each have different requirements for muscle growth, and that makes it difficult to train together and both make gains. But with 10×10 you both added eight pounds of muscle. My question is, Do you think that 10×10 solved the problem, that it provided each of you with what you the specific stimulation you need to grow? Your results would say yes, so do you think 10×10 is a mass-building solution for everyone, no matter what their genetics?

A: We’ve said that because Steve (left in the photo) is more endurance-fiber dominant and Jonathan is more power-fiber oriented that some training techniques that work for Steve don’t work as well for Jonathan and vice versa…

That does make it difficult to train the same and both make optimal gains. For example, Steve usually gets the best size surge from higher reps and/or drop sets, while Jonathan responds best to a combination of heavy training and longer tension times, with an emphasis on heavier straight sets.

Nevertheless, we’ve found that the best way for both of us to grow is by attacking all the layers, or facets, of muscle growth–max force, stretch overload and tension/occlusion. That’s the basis of Positions-of-Flexion mass training. For example, the three-way POF attack for triceps would be close-grip bench presses (midrange for max force); overhead extensions (stretch for stretch overload) and pushdowns (contracted for tension/occlusion).

Now, what we did during our 10×10 experiment was use it mostly on the big midrange exercise–like hack squats for quads, bench presses for chest and overhead presses for delts…

But remember that we jumped into that 10×10 routine after a few months of standard heavy POF training. Suddenly, with 10×10 we got a big growth surge–eight pounds of muscle after less than two months–however, we don’t attribute that gain completely to 10×10-style training. Why?

We believe the residual effects of the previous months of heavy training were allowed to manifest as we moved into a pure 10×10 program. In other words, before 10×10 we were using a max-force dominant program–heavy POF–with only minor emphasis on tension/occlusion. Then we shifted to 10×10, which is more tension/occlusion dominant with less emphasis on max force…

It’s tension/occlusion dominant because 10×10 is taking a weight that you can get 20 reps with, but you only do 10. You rest for 30 seconds, do another 10 and so on until you complete 10 sets. The first sets are easy, the last ones are very difficult. The short rests and higher reps (10) produce a lot of tension/occlusion, workout density and lactic acid pooling. That fatigue accumulation reduces your ability to generate force on the later sets, so there is less emphasis on that size-building component…

So we believe the first weeks of 10×10 allowed and promoted growth to occur from our previous heavy POF training, while also triggering new growth along a different pathway–the more endurance-oriented fibers and their constituents, like mitochondria and capillary beds. That gave us a double-barreled size effect those first few weeks–pounds of muscle began to appear. Interesting!

What we’ve discovered is that to get the largest muscles possible, you need to train all facets, or layers, of muscle growth. One way is to use different types of training each week, as in Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock. He does a good job of explaining muscle growth and how to make it happen in his new e-workout program The Power/Rep Range/Shock Workout.

You can even use the 10×10 method during each of Broser’s P/RR/S protocols–on the last exercise for each muscle group during Power week, on the stretch-position exercise during Rep Range week, and on the big leadoff midrange exercise during Shock week. [Note: We’ll expand on that in a future e-zine.]

Or, to maximize all layers of hypertrophy for a big growth jolt, you can do as we’re doing now: On the big exercises, like incline presses for chest, we first do two progressively heavier warmups, then two heavy sets to exhaustion, the second with X Reps. Then we reduce the weight and we do 4×10 in 10×10 style for a tension/occlusion finisher. That’s an excellent method to use on the fast, efficient Ultimate 10×10 Workout…

With that program you use only the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart, such as V-handle pulldowns for lats. Instead of 10×10, simply do a few warmup sets, then 2×8-10, resting about two minutes between sets so you can generate max force on both sets. After those two heavy sets, reduce the weight so you can do 4×10 in 10×10 style (same weight on all sets with 30 seconds of rest between sets). That will give you a full-blown pump and burn with tension/occlusion, adding another layer of muscle growth…

Do that for every exercise in that program, training three days a week as listed. Each workout will only take about 30 to 40 minutes.

The other program in that e-book, the Heavy/Light Ultimate 10×10 Workout, gives you full-on POF routines for every bodypart on heavy day; then on light day you do only the Ultimate Exercise in 10×10 style–nothing more for each muscle group…

So you alternate heavy 3-way POF bodypart routines with one-exercise 10×10. With that program you’re getting the multi-faceted growth mix we’re talking about: max-force-dominant workouts (heavy POF) and then a few days later tension/occlusion-dominant training (light one-exercise 10×10). It’s a great mass-building solution for most trainees.

Or you can try Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock, which gives you that max-mass-building mix over three weeks, different workouts each week. It’s certainly worked for Broser, who is a 250-pound drug-free pro bodybuilder…

Latest e-book release:
•Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock Workoutgives you all the everything you need to apply his max-mass system for incredible new gains–including all 12 printable workouts and a big Q&A section.

•The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout is based on the latest metabolic research so you can get bigger and leaner fast without long, mind-numbing cardio–you’ll burn fat and build muscle 24/7 with customized mass-building weight workouts.

Click on the e-books for more information:

Newbies: If you’re a beginning bodybuilder, coming back from a layoff or a trainer who trains beginners, our new e-book, Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide, is for you.

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To follow the ITRC training program in “Train, Eat, Grow,” get a copy of the latest issue of IRON MAN.

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This Special Report was submitted by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
The IRON MAN Training & Research Teamwww.ironmanmagazine.com

The ITRC Training Newsletter is not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program. You may forward this email to as many friends as you want, but do not photocopy or reprint this report in any format without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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